“Real men don’t cry”, or “don’t be a sissy”. Phrases like these, which have always been handed down from father to son, are only at the basis of the toxic masculinity education of children and teenagers.
They represent the other face of patriarchal society: if there is a weak woman, whose destiny is fulfilled only if she brings children into the world, there is also the strong man; he is allowed to resort to violence, both physical and verbal, but not to show his weaknesses.
Starting from these premises, the project Enlarge Magazine by photographer and designer Marco Tiberio reflects on the cultural model that over the centuries has associated the size of the penis with the concept of power. The size of the male genital organ, in fact, has become synonymous with better sexual abilities and one of the pieces that completes the definition of the strong male, the one who “must never ask”.
And what you should never ask for, for example, is help. According to the society modeled on toxic masculinity, in fact, a man who does not consider himself adequate to these standards, who wants to express his feelings and does not have the tools to defend himself from this dominant thought, can only succumb and become a victim of anxieties and fears. that prevent him from building his own healthy individuality.
Enlarge Magazine is a fictional magazine where articles and images tell in a playful and ironic way the tools to become perfect lovers. Tiberius uses different styles and appropriates existing languages in magazines and blogs that deal “seriously” with penis enlargement, but his goal is to make us laugh in order to leave behind the clear categories, which separate and hurt, fueling misogyny and homophobia.
Marco Tiberio’s project, created in collaboration with the art director Maria Ghetti, will be exhibited at the new edition of Photolux, the international photography biennial that will take place in Lucca from 21 May to 12 June. Among the other authors on the program there are also Erik Kessels, Pixy Liao, Seiichi Furuya, Marta Bogdańska, Diana Markosian, Sunil Gupta and Rinko Kawauchi, who among photos and installations investigate love and its variations, the main theme of the festival.